Bird web cam

Web cam feeds can be tedious! Even so, some have glorious moments to show. This one, for example. It's a nest cam, showing a mating pair of American Bald Eagles and their young. Neat that someone was able to get the cam there, and that the Eagles are ignoring it. The baby bird isn't overly pretty to my eyes, but the parents are doing their part anyway. Maybe it's not about looks...

On selling utility cycling

I often link to Copenhagenize.com. I enjoy reading Mikael's comments. I think he is right with many of his opinions regarding how to sell cycling as an alternative to motoring. Mikael's view is that he rides because it's quicker than driving. Riding, for him, is done in whatever clothing he's wearing at the moment, or with minimal changes to what clothing he's wearing at the moment. Riding, to him, is done in street shoes, on flat pedals (at least a lot of the time). It's even--gasp!--easier to ride than to drive.

On a recent post, he quotes one of his readers who put forth a slightly different view. Brian Glover's point is that cycling for transport isn't perceived as being sexy enough. He goes on to say that "sexy enough" varies by location, and that what is perceived as a great reason to cycle in Greenville North Carolina may not work in Washington D(istrict of) C(oncubines), or Seattle, or Louisville KY, and that "selling" utility cycling in disparate areas requires more awareness of the nuances of the specific areas.

I happen to agree with both of them. As a cycling advocate, I like the idea of telling folks I ride because I prefer it over driving. I enjoy that I get where I'm going as quickly (or sometimes more quickly) than if I were to use a car. I am certain that if more high-profile folks in our area would ride bikes instead of driving cars, the followers would take notice.

One problem is that there would be a certain percentage of people who would simply write off the popularity of those high-profile people and call us losers. As Brian Glover points out, "Even when cycling clearly is the fastest, most convenient way to get somewhere, they won’t do it, and they’ll look with disdain on anyone who does."

My workday commute, at twelve miles each way, takes me longer on a bike than in a car. I still prefer to ride, but I recognize that I'm a bit eccentric by the standards many use. I use a bicycle to get around close to home (within four or five miles) because it is easier and quicker (or at least about as quick). I get to park closer to the door of whatever store I'm patronizing. I like myself better when I'm not at the wheel of a car (I have far less patience with other road users when I'm in a car. See: Motor Mania).

In short, to get more folks to ride instead of driving cars, we as cyclists need to recognize that folks will act in what they think is their own best interest. My commute takes longer by bike than by car. I ride a bike whenever I can (I have weather minima, and sometimes am hauling stuff that I can't haul readily with a bike). It's still in my own perceived best interest to ride--I feel better about myself, I get some exercise, I get to re-allocate the funds I would have spent on driving...

My errand-running is also done by bicycle, for the same basic reason: It's in my own best interest. I can tick off observable benefits to my self--physical and emotional--that I gain by cycling instead of driving.

That I see a non-mainstream activity as being in my best interest makes me something of an oddity. I'm comfortable with that. I embrace that, in fact.

Brian discussed a survey (since ended, so no link found showing results) that asked why folks ride bikes for utility. The question Brian wanted to see asked, with answers that were decidedly not overly polite, was:

“Why do you choose to do something that, in the eyes of 95% of your society, marks you as a freak and a loser?”

No one will say this out loud, of course – it’s not polite – but it’s the truth. And no one will answer this question honestly, either, but if they did, the choices would look like this:

A. I am too poor to get around in any other way. I have no choice. I
am abject.

B. I have had my rights as a citizen stripped from me because of
repeated, unforgivably bad behavior (i.e. drunk driving
convictions). I am an outcast and a pariah.

C. I think most mainstream people are idiots, and I actively seek
out their disapproval. I am a rebel. If the majority of people
around me start biking, I’ll hate that too.

D. I genuinely don’t care what other people think of me. I am an
independent thinker. I also have enough job security and social
status that I can afford not to care what other people think of me.
I am either uncommonly strong, or uncommonly privileged.

My own answer is pretty close to (D) on this one, even though I don't consider it an accurate description of me. Job security in this day and age is ephemeral for too many. I have a job that is a good fit for me, but it's a small store, and we always want to have more revenue than we have. Social status can be a point of contention with me--I admit to falling into the trap of reverse-snobbery too easily. I may be uncommonly strong in some way--willingness to be different than the norm, for example--but don't see that as a strength so much as merely a trait. I hardly consider myself privileged, until I look at what I have compared to folks with less income or mobility or fewer family/social ties or whatever other scale one measures wealth and realize that I am quite privileged.

Yep, I have the privilege of living in such a way that I can ride a bike to work on a regular basis, ride one bike or another to accomplish much of my errand-running, can walk to do some things, and otherwise leave the car in the driveway. It's in my self-interest to live this way, as I get to allocate my earnings into things more enjoyable than car payments, gasoline bills, car parts and higher insurance premiums in favor of better-tasting food, a nicer place to live (lower utility bills being part of what defines "nicer"), more comfortable clothing (kilts aren't as cheap as jeans, although a kilt will outlast several pair of jeans...), and so on.

I also have the privilege of acting in my own perceived best interest, and that means riding a bike to work a majority of the time instead of driving.

Bike to Work Week recap

For Bike to Work Week, I got the dubious pleasure of driving to work. Twice. For the third week in a row, I exceeded my car mileage for April.

Driving more than three times as much as I did last month is not something of which I'm proud. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, at least not in principle. However, it's a frustrating reminder that with what is happening in my life over the next four weeks, I won't be getting any long miles ridden. That doesn't bode well for RAIN, but I've done that ride with less-than-ideal preparation before.

And, yes, I even drove to work yesterday. I had an excuse, though--I knew I was going to be hauling a bunch of stuff home that would be at best unwieldy with a bike trailer.

I rode an assortment of bike miles this week. I rode the Raleigh a fair bit--for errands prior to the Monday evening New Rider class as well as to the class itself, to the Bike to Work celebration downtown, then out again with the trailer for some shopping (in two different directions, no less: a visit to a nice wine store on Frankfort Avenue and then to Westport Village to window-shop at The Trail Store). I even got to ride it for a while last night, in search of a small tool box for my upcoming trip across the country.

I rode Jenn's Giro 26 to work on Wednesday, as I'd had contact from a fellow who wanted to test-ride one for his upcoming bike journey. I rode home in something of a hurry, so that I could change jerseys and bikes and ride the Vanguard to the Ride of Silence. Good thing, too, as I wound up staying downtown for dinner with friends after the ride, and it was dark when I rode home (the Giro doesn't have headlights). I rode the Vanguard to work on Thursday, as is normal for me.

I didn't work on Friday, but had scheduled the day off so that I could attend the Bike to Work celebration downtown. I had been invited to join Team LBC in the Louisville KY Commuter Challenge. It surprised nobody that we won, as one of our team accounted for something like ten percent of the points earned in the entire contest ('twasn't I). We won a custom helmet mirror for each team member and the coveted "Golden Handlebars," along with bragging rights to enjoy until this time next year.

Saturday was "drive to work day" for me, as mentioned above. After work, I went to my mom's house to help her sort out final details on an apron she made for me.

Over the years I've worked in bike shops, I have worn out several commercially-produced shop aprons--usually tools wear holes in the pockets to the point that fixing the apron is time-consuming enough that replacing it works better. I mentioned this to Mom, and added that a layer of rip-stop nylon inside the pocket might prevent or delay the wear-through time. I took an old apron out to Mom so she would have a template, and she created an improved version in time for my birthday a couple months ago. We used various lessons learned from that apron's construction in tweaking the design for the second apron. I'll use the second one at home, for the most part, but she wanted to get it to me in time for me to take it on the RAAM trip.

I'm trying to sort out the packing for my trip. As established readers of my musings know, part of my duties for RAAM involve working on bikes, so I will need tools. I don't relish the thought of some TSA agent accidentally or otherwise losing any of my tools during an airport inspection (although I know that there are some conscientious agents, horror stories abound). I've made arrangements to send out my tools and repair stand via UPS, and will send them home again from Maryland once we reach Annapolis.

In the box with my tools, I will send my portable power supply for my CPAP machine. It's mildly entertaining to watch the TSA folks' expressions as they see the battery come through their x-ray device, but it's also a serious enough thing that I'm even happier not having to schlep the battery around with all the other crap I'm carrying on the airplane.

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a "netbook" or something like that for the trip, to enable me to type more of my thoughts before forgetting them. I would then be able to periodically update this blog during the race, read email and generally keep up with other stuff I like to monitor. I don't know that I'll have much time to do so--what time I spend online would be during my off-duty hours, and I may be more interested in sleeping then. I don't expect to have much time for such frivolity as blogging while I'm on duty, and am not sure how sharp the delineation between on- and off-duty will be. I suppose I could go low-tech, and write down my thoughts as I go, figuring on rewriting/revising as I upload it after I get home.

Bike to Work Week

It's Bike to Work Week. As I've said in prior posts, most of the folks who read this already "get it." Bike to Work Week and Day are more about those who are on the proverbial fence about riding to work--those who want to, but who feel there are too many obstacles for them. It's about encouraging them to ride and helping them to find ways over or around those obstacles.

Of course, I wound up driving to work today. It was raining, and I thought I heard thunder, as I did one day last week.

I almost committed to driving to work tomorrow, too, until I realized that the reason I was considering driving--to get Jenn's Giro to the store for a test-ride by a potential recumbent buyer--could also be accomplished by riding the bike without needing the car to haul it. I have clothes at work and I have lunch stuff there, so I won't need a lot of cargo space.

On a more somber note: Wednesday, 19 May is the day for the annual Ride of Silence. Many communities across North America and even the world will observe this event, held at 7:00 PM local times, to honor the memory of our cycling friends who have been killed in crashes with motor vehicle (mis)operators. I have several folks to remember this year, including my friend Sharon, who was almost as active in the local cycling community as she was in her home in Alabama.

Whoo HOO!!!

I've been antsy over the last couple of weeks due to the house-buying experience. "Will it go through as hoped? Will the bank agree that we have the wherewithal to buy the house?"

Late last week, another piece of the puzzle arrived--the loan company's appraisal of the house.

It was $4500 less than the contract price. Not going unnoticed by any of us, it was--to the dollar--the same amount we had initially offered on the house.

Apparently it would be all but impossible for the seller to get more money for the house at this point. The pool of buyers has all but gone away with the end of the first-time home-buyers' tax break program, so if she refused the reduced price it would likely be a LONG time before she could sell the house for more money, and she certainly would not be able to sell it to someone who, like Jenn and me, are buying using the FHA program.

Still, given the difficulty the selling realtor had getting her to sell for our second offered price, we were nervous. Would she come down that last few thousand dollars?

I learned late last night that she had. We'll have the signed addendum to our purchase contract at the appraised price tomorrow or Thursday.

The seller asked that we schedule the closing for 8 June. Good for us, as we plan to fly to California on 9 June. Jenn's daughters will be minding things while we are gone (along with some friends of ours that my step-daughters may or may not notice doing drive-by checks), and the closing is early enough in the day that I expect to have time to change the locks on the house before we skip town. I wouldn't expect problems from this seller, but I still feel better having my own locks installed. There was one deadbolt that is misaligned a bit, and I'll have a chance to fix that while I'm changing the key cylinders.


I've not been riding much the last few days. I rode to work Saturday, and rode to Mom's from work to help my stepfather plant a tree in their backyard. Jenn picked me up at Mom's house so that we could visit some of her family that evening, so my commute was only eighteen of the usual twenty-four miles. I'll hit the Tuesday evening ride in a bit, and get some miles on the Strada just for kicks.

I also now have my newest kilt. I've been saving for this one for a while, and it's been a pretty cool way to buy. It's an RKilt, with some traditional details but made on a more modern form. I couldn't justify getting a leather kilt, although having seen the one Robert (the creator of RKilts) was wearing this morning I can see why a lot of folks like them so well. However, I've been reading enough good things about his attention to detail and the "hand" of his hemp fabric that one of these has been on my "eventually I'll get one" list for a while. I need to wash it one more time before I start wearing it (and certainly before I take pictures of it), but the test-fit felt VERY good.

As I said, it's made of hemp, and the more I read about hemp the more I think this country has some serious cranio-rectal insertion problems! If the North American Industrial Hemp Council can be believed at all, hemp would easily displace tobacco as Kentucky's leading legal cash crop, and make a run for being the leading cash crop by making the current leader harder to grow (hemp cross-pollinating with marijuana plants leads to lower-THC marijuana, not higher-THC hemp). It's easy to learn the difference between the two, so reasonably-well-trained LEOs *should* be able to discriminate. Besides, hemp is typically grown densely-planted, to get it to grow more fibrous, whereas pot is grown widely-separated to get it to leaf better.

Of course, small minds prevail on such things. Go figure. Yep, keep us from growing a plant that has dozens or hundreds of uses, that requires far less chemical help than cotton and makes a better fabric, that provides an oil that was the original fuel for Rudolph Diesel's engines, has longer fibers and is thus better for rope, and much more.

...and the fabrics made from hemp are so darned durable! At least, that's what I keep reading. I look forward to seeing how this kilt wears. I plan to wear it when I crew on RAAM next month.

May--may we all bike to work

As mentioned previously, May is Bike Month. There is an assortment of stuff happening associated with this, including Bike to Work Week and Bike to Work Day (May 21). There are bike safety classes to be found, presented by Bicycling for Louisville and the Louisville Bicycle Club. There is a Commuter Challenge going, by which one can win some cool prizes and the adoration of your peers (or something).

I know that a few folks read what I put here. I get comments from time to time about something I put here but nowhere else online, and from people I don't know. I presume that most of the people who bother to read what I say are already bike-friendly enough that you want to ride to work even if you haven't figured out how to deal with the details. I don't have to convince you to bike to work, although I'm happy to help you figure out those pesky details.

I don't know how to convince others, though, aside from riding to work myself, talking about riding to work (I get to keep my bike in the store, and "casually" refer to it when talking to customers), and encouraging those who also ride to work to encourage others who haven't done so.

We don't have to ride to work to "save the environment," "stick it to the oil companies," or prove anything. I ride to work with those things in mind, yes, but mainly I ride to work because I like myself better when I am riding than when I'm driving. I enjoy the ride more than the drive. Sure, I save money on gas, car repairs and car insurance. Sure, I am keeping one more car out of the traffic jams (and still getting to work in a reasonable amount of time). I realize that I have some good fortune in that I'm able to keep my bike inside while at work, safe from idle hands who would toy with the various doo-dads mounted on the bike (or "borrow" said accessories), and that I also enjoy the good fortune to work in a place where cycling to work is not such a weird thing.

Anyway, it's May. It's Bike Month. It's Bike to Work Month. Soon it will be Bike to Work Week. Ride--to work, to the grocery, to the Post Office, to the Library, to the coffee shop, to your friend's house a couple miles away--and enjoy riding. Encourage your friends to ride.

"Work to eat, eat to live, live to ride, ride to work"